The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for displaying alarm information. More particularly, this invention relates to a method and apparatus that quickly displays pertinent alarm information within a monitored facility or area.
With the ever-increasing proliferation of technology and information, many corporations have manufacturing and engineering facilities that house sensitive and proprietary information and serve as working environments for countless employees. To protect their occupants and valuable assets, many facilities have extensive facility management systems that monitor various conditions associated with security (e.g., entry/exit), safety (e.g., fire and other hazardous events), and general maintenance (e.g., proper environmental controls such as temperature and humidity).
As such facility management systems become more sophisticated and take on an ever increasing number of monitoring functions, the amount of collected information also increases greatly. In fact, as corporations proceed toward computerizing employee information, such large quantity of employee information can be made directly available to the facility management systems. Although linking such information to facility management systems will likely increase their efficiency and effectiveness, such large quantity of information becomes unwieldy.
Specifically, as the complexity and functions of such systems increase, the level of training of the facility monitoring force must also increase accordingly. However, security employment opportunities are traditionally low paying jobs that have been filled by workers having rudimentary or no knowledge of computer systems. Thus, although numerous information and functions may be available in such facility management systems, the unskilled security force may be overwhelmed by the complexity and numerous functions offered in the facility management systems.
Additionally, regardless of the skills of the security force, during an alarm situation, e.g., a fire within the facility, the security force is under great duress to act quickly such that the complexity and the numerous functions offered in the facility management systems may actually become a hindrance instead of an aid. Since such alarm conditions are rare events, even a properly trained security personnel may be overwhelmed to properly diagnose the alarm condition and to perform the proper steps to address such alarm conditions.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus for quickly and effectively displaying trace information within a monitored facility or area.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a method and apparatus is disclosed that displays alarm event and pertinent information in a unique screen structure. Specifically, the alarm display screen is designed in such a way as to provide an operator or security officer with all pertinent alarm data in an efficient and orderly manner. This unique representation of alarm data leads an operator through a logical sequence of steps for proper alarm management.
Specifically, all data necessary for proper alarm management is presented to the operator simultaneously, without creating undo xe2x80x9cscreen clutterxe2x80x9d. In addition, the number of computer keystrokes normally required by an operator to properly respond to an alarm is kept to a minimum. This unique combination results in fast and efficient alarm processing.
In operation, the alarm display is divided into 4 quadrants, with each quad containing separate, but relative information. For example, quadrant 1 (e.g., upper left on the screen)xe2x80x94displays all active alarms with priority level, received date, and received time. Each alarm entry is color coded by status (acknowledged, reset, etc). Quadrant 2 (e.g., upper right on the screen) displays alarm instructions in dealing with the alarm event. Quadrant 3 (e.g., lower left on the screen) displays a map showing the exact alarm location. Quadrant 4 (e.g., lower right on the screen) displays pre-defined, user programmable alarm responses, e.g., a check list of responses that must be made by the operator.
This unique display of an alarm event in a clear and efficient manner greatly reduces the stress placed on the operator. The simultaneous display of all the relevant information allows the operator to properly handle the alarm event in the most efficient and safe manner.